Rod cutter



United States Patent [72] Inventor George Dearsley Williamsburg,Virginia [21] Appl. No. 827,284 [22] Filed May 23,1969

Continuation of Ser. No. 582,561, Sept. 28,

[45] Patented Sept. 1, 1970 [73] Assignee American Machine & FoundryCompany a corporation of New Jersey [54] ROD CUTTER 9 Claims, 2 DrawingFigs.

[52] U.S.Cl 131/21, 131/65, 146/101, 83/370 [51] 1nt.Cl A24c 5/25, A2405/31 [50] Field ofSearch 131/21B, 21, 60, 63, 64, 65; 83/370, 548, 418;146/101 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 583,002 5/1897Satterwhite 131/65 1,790,342 1/1931 Di lanni 131/65 1,851,334 3/1932Stein et a1. 131/65 1,972,442 9/1934 Grupe 131/65 2,319,611 5/1943Leathers 13l/65X Primary Examiner-Joseph S. Reich Att0mey George W.Price and Murray Schaffer ABSTRACT: A cigarette making machine rodcutter for severing defective lengths of rod comprising a rotatingmember having a plurality ofknives fixed to its periphery, said memberbeing mounted to rotate about an axis parallel to the rod formed in themachine and arranged to be rotated in angular steps or increments by apivotable lever having a handle at one end, as well as a hook forengaging one end ofa bolt used to mount each ofthe knives, and a latchadjacent to the handle for engaging a blunt portion of a succeedingknife thereby limiting the stroke of the lever to a single cut for eachstroke. A sensing device is placed adjacent to the rod to provide asignal which is used to operate a solenoid having a plunger for pivotingthe opposite end of the lever for cutting the rod in a similar fashion.

Patented Sept. 1, 1970 FIG.2

ROD CUTTER This is a continuation application Ser. No. 582, 56l filedSeptember 28, I966, and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a rod cutter and particularly to acigarette-maker rod cutter.

A conventional cigarette maker is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,958and generally comprises a rod forming mechanism extending along ahorizontal axis by which cut tobacco particles are formed into a filler,wrapped with paper into a continuous rod and then severed into uniformlengths by a cut-off device. The cut-off device generally comprises atubular portion constituting a ledger and a rotatable knife coactingtherewith whereby the continuous rod is severed as it movestherethrough.

One problem with conventional cigarette makers is that the rod, enteringthe high speed cut-off, can easily jam the device if it is poorlywrapped, causing the shut-down of the machine and requiring the manualremoval of the rod by the operator who must then reset and restart themachine.

An object of this invention is to provide a selectively operableindependent rod cutter between the rod former and high speed cut-offdevice, whereby the rod may be severed and manually removed before entryinto the high speed cut-off. A further object of the invention is toprovide the device with means by which it may be manually operated orautomatically operated on sensing ofa faulty section of rod.

It is another object of the invention to provide a cigarette maker inwhich faulty or unwanted rod may be severed and removed, therebyreducing the possibility ofjamming.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rod cuttercomprising a rotor with an axis of rotation, a stator rotatablysupporting said rotor, a plurality of knives mounted on said rotor andperipherally spaced about said axis at substantially equal angles forcutting a rod disposed substantially parallel to said axis and astep-drive means mounted on said stator and engaging said knives one ata time for advancing said rotor in substantially equal angular steps,the whole being located with respect to the path of the cigarette rod sothat, on actuation, lengths of defective rod may be removed.

It will be understood that while the preferred form of the invention isto provide a rod cutter for use on cigarette making machines, the samemay be employed on filter tip, rod-forming machines which areessentially the same in structure and operation.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent upon reading thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings, wherein like partsare designated by like numerals throughout the several views, andwherein:

FIG. I is an elevational view partially in section and illustrating anelectrical schematic in part, ofa rod cutter embodying features of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, a smallportion thereof being broken away.

Referring to FIG. I, the embodiment of the present invention is shown inconnection with a cigarette maker I0, schematically and partially shown,which includes a machine base 12, a rod former 13 mounted on base 12 formaking a continuously travelling cigarette rod 14 and a highspeedcut-off device 15 for cutting rod 14 into equal length pieces. Base I2,rod former I3 and rod 14 are substantially parallel with thelongitudinal rod axis 17 of rod I4, and the rod former 13 includes aconventional heater I9 and paster 21.

According to the present invention, a rod cutter I6 is mounted on thebase 12 between the former I3 and cut-off I5 adjacent the travelling rodso as to be operable in a manner to be described. Thus should the faultyor damaged section of rod be observed. the cutter 16 may be operated toselectively sever and permit manual or automatic removal of that sectionprior to its entry into the cut-off l5, and later allowing only goodsections of rod therethrough.

Rod cutter 16 comprises a wheel-like rotor 18 with an axis of rotation20 and a fixed stator member 22, consisting of a solid member that isessentially rectangular in cross-section and having recesses and thelike to receive shafts, machine screws or the like, and as seen in FIG.1 a substantially L- shaped extension on the upper surface for mountinga pivotable lever 84 in a manner to be described. The rotor I8 isprovided with a plurality of knives 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38,which are positioned around and project outward beyond the periphery tocooperate with a ratchet or step type drive means 40. A cutting block 42is mounted on stator member 22 for cooperation with each of theindividual knives 24 through 38. The rod cutter I6 is located so thatits rotor axis 20 is disposed substantially parallel to rod axis 17 andits knives extend radially beyond the path of travel of the rod 14.

The rotor 18 is provided with a hub 44 which is rotatably supported onshaft 58 which is secured rigidly to stator 22. The rotor 18 rotatesabout axis 20 and carries a peripheral rim 46 on which are supportedknives 24 through 38. The peripheral rim 46 of the rotor 18 is providedwith a substantially cylindrical shoulder 50 which faces in a radiallyoutward direction, and a substantially flat inner wall 52 which faces inan axial direction. The rim 46 of rotor 18 has a radially outer edgesurface 54 which has a substantially cylindrical shape.

A member for supporting the various components relative to each otherand having any convenient size, shape, form and preferably as describedabove is here referred to as a stator member 22 and has a support wall56 which is fixed securely to base 12 by bolts, welding or the like. Ashaft 58 is fixed to wall 56 and extends outwardly to form the journalbearing for the rotor hub 44. Wall 56 has a vertical end face 60having-a recess 62 to accommodate certain operating apparata describedlater.

Knives 24 through 38 are radially spaced about the periphery of therotor rim 46 and are separated by substantially equal angles 64. Eachknife is substantially identical in construction and assembly and isprovided with a substantially straight cutting edge 66 which is tiltedor swept backwards in elevation, forming a sweepback angle 68 relativeto a radial line through the rotation axis 20 and normal to surface 54.Each knife also has a substantially straight base edge 70 adapted tobear against cylindrical shoulder 50, the two coacting to permit properresetting of the knives after sharpening. With this construction, eachof knives 24 through 38 provides a shearing action on the rod 14 as therotor 18 is caused to rotate in the direction of arrow A (FIG. 2). Eachknife is con- 2. The lower leg 76 has a substantially flat end face 78and asubstantially flat upper face 80 which intersect along a cuttingedge 82. Upper face 80 is disposed in a plane, which is substantiallyparallel to rotor axis 20 while the end face 78 is tilted away from edge82 and from the plane of movement of the knives 28 through 38. Thecutting edge 82 is located adjacent.

the plane of movement of the knives 2438 so as to cooperate with them,to provide a scissor-type cutting action on rod 14.

The rotor 18 is actuated by drive means 40 which comprises an elongatedlever arm 84 and an elongated depending pawl 86. In FIG. 2, lever 84 isshown in full lines in its upper position, and is also shownschematically by dotted lines in its lower alternate position. Lever 84is pivotally connected to stator member 22 adjacent its lower end 88 andis provided at its upper end 90 with a hand-type punch plate 92 orhandle by which it may be manually depressed. The lever 84 is mounted soas to be movable in a plane generally parallel to the plane in whichrotor 18 is moved and is slightly offset from the rotor 18 so as to beadjacent to one side face thereof as shown in FIG. 1. The lever 84 isprovided with a downwardly directed latch member 94 adapted to hook ontothe bolts 72 successively, each time that the lever is depressed.Briefly, the depression of the lever 84 causes rotor 18 to rotate bymeans of the pawl 86 while the latch 94 prevents excessive rotation.

The pawl 86 is pivotally connected to the lever 84 at its upper end 96and is adapted to swing in substantially the same plane as the lever 84.The lower end ofthe pawl 86 is provided with hook 98 having a contouradapted to engage with the contour of the bolt 72 axially extending fromthe rotor 18. The pawl 86 is of sufficient length to engage with one ofthe bolts 72 in the upper right hand quadrant of rotor 18 (as seen inH0. 2) when the lever 84 is in its uppermost position. When the lever 84is depressed, the pawl 86 causes the rotor 18 to turn in the directionof arrow A through an angle sufficient to cause at least one of theknives 24-38 to pass the cutting edge 82 on the ledger block 42. Thepawl 86 is provided with a spring 97 connecting it rearwardly with thelever 84 so that it is normally biased with the hook end 98 alwaysagainst one of the bolts 72. After the rotor 18 is turned and the rodsevered, continued movement of the lever 84 causes engagement of thelatch 94 with one of the other extending bolts 72, thus stopping thecontinued rotation.

In use, should the lever 84 be manually depressed, the pawl 86 engagingone of the bolts 72 forces the rotor 18 to rotate in step-like fashionin the direction of arrow A until the latch 94 engages with another ofthe bolts 72. As the rotor 18 rotates one of the knives 2438, it passesthe block 42 and coacts with the cutting edge 82 to sever the rod 14.The knives are arranged so that they clear the path of rod 14 afterseverance, permitting the rod 14 to continue to move toward the cut-offdevice 15. Since the rotor 18 is moved only on the downward movement ofthe lever 84 and pawl 86, it is in fact moved only once with eachactuation and only in the direction of arrow A, thus providing astepwise or indexing drive means. After operation, the upward movementof the lever 84 and pawl 86 is accomplished by spring 93 which holdslever 84 against stop 95 in the ready position from which the cycle ofevents described above may be repeated. The upward movement of the lever84 and pawl 86 or the holding of these elements in the downward positionhas no effect on the movement of the rotor 18. Consequently, should afaulty section of rod 17 be observed, the operator can depress and thenimmediately release the lever 84 and sever the rod. The operator canoperate the device repeatedly as many times as he selects, enabling him,by successive cuts, to remove successive sections from the continuouslymoving rod. During this process, of course, the rod is preventedmanually, as is the current custom, from entering into the tubularledger portion of the cut-off15. It is to be noted that each knife,after being used to sever the rod, comes to rest at a position that isbeyond the rod and, therefore, does not interfere with the normaladvance of the cigarette rod.

The device is also provided with means for automatically sensing afaulty rod and for automatically actuating the cutting device of thepresent invention. The drive means 40 also includes an automaticactuator 100, which is housed in the recess 62 of stator 22 previouslydescribed. A sensor 102 is mounted on cutting block 42 to determine thestate ofthe rod 14 as it passes by. Actuator 100 is a conventionalsolenoid having a thrust-type piston rod 104 which reciprocates thereinand engages the lower end 88 of lever 84 to thereby pivot the leveragainst spring 93 on any upward thrust. Sensor 102 is preferably aconventional emitter-receiver type of sensor, providing a signal uponsensing a defective length of rod 14, such as when the outer diameter ofrod 14 exceeds a prescribed limit or when the paper is torn. The sensor102 is connected to close a normally open switch to couple a powersupply 106 to an actuator 100 through a pair of leads 108 and 110 sothat upon sensing a defective portion of rod 14a signal is transmittedto the actuator 100 causing piston 104 to move the rear end 88 oflever84 upwardly. The operation of the rod cutter is thereafter the same asif manually operated, i.e., the

lever 84 is depressed and the rotor 18 rotated. The solenoid actuator isactuated when the sensor 102 senses a dcl'ec tive length of rod 14 toinitiate a cut or severance of the rod.

However, if desired, the sensor 102 can be made to emit successivesignals upon sensing a defective length of rod to cause successivesevering of the rod.

in summary, this invention provides for a cigarette maker, ahand-operable and/or automatically operable rod cutter for severing andpermitting the removal of defective rod lengths travelling through saidmaker.

I claim:

1. A rod cutter for severing a longitudinally travelling tobacco rodcomprising, a fixed stator member, a rotor having an axis of rotationand rotatably supported by said stator with the axis of rotationsubstantially parallel to the travelling rod, a plurality of knivesmounted on the periphery of said rotor and spaced about said axis atsubstantially equal angles and adapted to extend into the path of travelof said rod, a steptype drive means mounted on said stator for advancingsaid rotor in substantially equal angular steps, thereby causing saidknives to engage and sever said rod.

2. The rod cutter according to claim 1 in which said step drive meansincludes manually operable means therefor.

3. The rod cutter according to claim 1 including means for sensing adefective condition of said travelling rod and for providing a signaldenoting such condition and means for automatically actuating said stepdrive means to sever said rod in response to said signal.

4. A rod cutter as claimed in claim 1 in which said rotor is wheel-likeand is provided with a hub for rotatably mounting the same on saidstator and a rim portion about which said knives are spaced, said knivesbeing mounted to said rotor so that said mounting engages with said stepdrive to effect movement of said rotor angularly by the distance betweensuccessive knives.

5. A rod cutter as claimed in claim 4 in which the rotor is providedwith a circular shoulder and each of said knives comprises asubstantially flat plate pivotally connected to said rim and having atleast one edge forming a cutting edge and a second edge forming abearing edge for hearing against said shoulder.

6. A rod cutter as claimed in claim land including a cutting blockmounted on said stator having a substantially straight cutting edgedisposed in a plane substantially at right angles to said axis, and inwhich said knives have respective cutting edges substantially disposedin said plane coacting with said block for providing a scissor-typeslicing action on said rod.

7. A rod cutter as claimed in claim 4 in which the mounting for saidknives includes a laterally extending member and in which said stepdrive means includes an elongated lever arm having one end pivotallyconnected to said stator, an elongated pawl having one end pivotallyconnected to the other end of said lever arm and having an opposite endadapted to engage one of said lateral extensions in succession forlimited angular displacement of the rotor, and said lever arm having alatch portion adapted to engage another of said extensions in successionfor arresting said rotor after each said angular displacement.

8. A rod cutter as claimed in claim 7 in which said drive means includesa solenoid having a piston adapted to move with respect thereto, saidpiston engaging with said lever arm, a sensor disposed adjacent to saidrod on the upstream side of said rotor to sense the condition of saidrod, and means for connecting said sensor to said solenoid to actuatesaid piston on sensing of a defective length of rod whereby said pistonactuates said step drive means to effect said severing of said rod.

9. The rod cutter as claimed in claim 7 including a handle mounted tothe other end of said lever arm for manually actuating said step drivemeans.

